Chapter 34 Part 2
Wang Jun and his colleagues had contacted Liu Jianguo’s nephew based on the information they found.
The nephew was surprised to receive a call from the police in a small town in the southwest, cautiously not revealing much, only saying that Senior Liu Jianguo was critically ill, probably wouldn’t last more than a day or two.
Liu Ziyang stared at Wang Jun blankly.
He couldn’t remember anything before, only subconsciously remembering that his dad was a great police officer, and he wanted to go home to find his mom and dad.
After a while, a trembling yet sweet smile appeared on Liu Ziyang’s lips. ‘Then, then I’ll be reunited with Mom and Dad soon, that’s good.’
Wu Heng took a brush and swiftly wrote a prescription, then went to the pharmacy and started preparing the herbs.
Wang Jun and his colleagues watched, confused. Why was Wu Heng suddenly preparing medicine?
There were several pots for boiling Chinese medicine in Chengde Medical Clinic. Wu Heng put the herbs in, boiled them, and poured the small amount of dark liquid into a protective bamboo tube.
Wu Heng explained, “A dying person can borrow a few more days from the underworld by drinking this.”
“This isn’t a life-extending technique.”
Wang Jun and his colleagues stared at the ordinary-looking bowl in astonishment.
Just… this medicine?
They often said, “When Yama wants you dead at the third watch, you won’t live till the fifth.”
Could Wu Heng defy fate with just a dose of medicine? Even just for a few days?
If this prescription were made public, countless wealthy people would chase after it.
Wu Heng patted Liu Ziyang’s small head and smiled. “I’ll wait for your father to come and pay the consultation fee himself.”
Wu Heng placed the bamboo tube on the little white snake’s head. “I’ll give you the address and a leaf with my scent, go deliver this medicine.”
The little white snake immediately protested.
‘Why should I? Wu Heng, are you making me work for free? I’m the Well Dragon King, not your…’
Wu Heng: “I’ll ask your godfather to buy you a full KFC family bucket.”
The little white snake instantly changed its tune. ‘I didn’t say anything.’
Since learning that the little white snake lived at the other end of the well, Shi Xuan had drastically reduced the frequency of his food deliveries.
Even when it snuck into Zhou Yi’s study and tore up his practice books, sincerely writing letters to its godfather, Shi Xuan barely responded.
Only occasionally sending some food.
The little white snake, happily imagining fried chicken, darted off with the bamboo tube on its head, then suddenly realized something wasn’t right.
Wait, Wu Heng made it work, but why was its godfather the one paying? Wu Heng, that cheapskate, wasn’t paying a cent!
Liu Ziyang, seeing the little white snake leaving with the medicine, couldn’t help but follow.
Wu Heng thought for a moment, then told Wang Jun and his colleagues to go back.
They nodded, if what Wu Heng said was true, this had to be reported, and just the few of them weren’t enough.
Wu Heng sat alone at the consultation table, fiddling with his phone.
Ignoring the buzzing WeChat group chats, he opened his chat with Shi Xuan.
[HengHengBaby: Buy your godson some fast food later.]
[SX: Okay.]
Shi Xuan was sitting at his desk. School had started, and their senior year started earlier than the other grades. There was always a placement test at the beginning of the school year, and although he didn’t need to study to score first, he didn’t want to go out, preferring to stay at his desk.
As Shi Xuan opened the food delivery app, a notification popped up, making him drop his phone.
After a while, Shi Xuan picked up his phone and looked at the WeChat message, his eyes widening in surprise.
[HengHengBaby: Um, can you give me a personal item of yours?]
Wu Heng couldn’t see through Shi Xuan, but he knew he had a heavy Yin aura, if it wasn’t suppressed by some sort of artifact, the entire Shi residence would become a terrifying ghost domain.
Anything he used, especially personal items, would carry his Yin qi.
Wanting to lure someone into a trap, Wu Heng wanted to give that antique collector a special gift, asking for a friend’s item wasn’t too much, right? They were friends now!
Why hesitate so much? Still no reply!
Finally, after a long while, a reply came.
[SX: Are you sure?]
[HengHengBaby: Yes.]
[SX: …Something used? Or unused?]
[HengHengBaby: Definitely used.]
An unused item wouldn’t carry enough of his aura to be useful.
Shi Xuan stared at the message, confused.
If he wanted it, then… he could have it.
Under the scorching sun, lush greenery filled the large, exotic manor, a beautifully carved white elephant statue spraying water from its trunk.
A Southeast Asian family doctor in a white coat, carrying a medical kit, hurried inside.
The old man inside was smashing things, exquisite porcelain from China shattered on the floor, a sight even the layman family doctor found regrettable.
Useless!
Lu Guoliang, leaning on his cane, shouted, “Why can’t you cure me? I have these rashes, and now pustules and ulcers are forming, even my bones are aching.”
“Is the money I pay you every year for nothing?”
The family doctors shook their heads. “No, Mr. Lu, we initially diagnosed you with late-stage syphilis, which is treatable, but we don’t know why the medication isn’t effective.”
Lu Guoliang’s face darkened. He was furious.
As Wu Heng said, he had a sex addiction since he was young and had slept with countless women over the years. He was always careful with protection, but somehow he contracted it.
Doctors were useless, and he had even invited several practitioners of witchcraft and metaphysics, some performed rituals, others drew talismans for him, all to no avail.
His symptoms were worsening, and he had to wear a Tang suit even in this hot weather in Southeast Asia.
He had an antique exhibition to attend in a while, which he would probably have to miss now.
These doctors and practitioners were all useless. The former understood medicine but not metaphysics, the latter understood spells but not medicine, clueless about treating syphilis.
All useless.
After all this time, only Wu Heng, the shaman doctor…
Only that online Wu Heng got it right.
Wu Heng’s last words during the live stream, saying he was waiting at Chengde Medical Clinic, that he cured all illnesses, were incredibly tempting.
Lu Guoliang was tempted, but he was hesitant.
He was a renowned antique collector now, an elderly man, wouldn’t he be ridiculed if he died from that?
But he clearly saw the little ghost beside Wu Heng, it was that police officer’s child!
And Wu Heng was even sculpting a mud ear and teeth, clearly for the little ghost.
It was like a trap waiting for him to jump in.
How could he go back?
“Old man, don’t worry too much, that little shaman doctor probably just raised a child ghost, those mud organs are just to appease it,” a practitioner sitting on the floor said, trying to reassure him.
Raising child ghosts was common here. If you raised one, you had to offer it something in return, otherwise, why would it work for you? It must be the same in China.
A child ghost of a police officer would be even more useful than ordinary ghosts or malicious spirits, able to approach those with righteous qi like police officers.
If he hadn’t escaped in a hurry back then, raising a ghost like that himself wouldn’t have been a bad idea.
Lu Guoliang, looking at the rashes covering his body, was still hesitant. “What if I go back and…”
He couldn’t take the risk.
Wu Heng’s confident assertion that he would die within three days felt like a death curse.
People in his position and at his age were especially afraid of death.
This world was so beautiful, why die so early? He was only seventy, he could live to be a hundred!
The practitioner took out a talisman from his sleeve and handed it to Lu Guoliang, saying confidently, “That shaman doctor isn’t that special. This talisman will protect you, ensuring a safe return after your treatment.”
Lu Guoliang, holding the talisman, thought of Wu Heng during the live stream.
What they did required courage!
Those without courage couldn’t do this job.
So what if it was a trap?
Could a minor trick an old fox like him?
Lu Guoliang paced back and forth, then finally said, “Let’s go back!”
In an ordinary residential building, a man in his thirties carried a thin, frail old man into his home.
The small apartment was filled with relatives and friends.
The nephew gently laid Liu Jianguo on the bed and covered him with a thin blanket. “Uncle, we’re home.”
His uncle’s time had come. The hospital couldn’t cure him. He had no spouse or children, so his nephew took charge of his affairs, bringing him back to his hometown.
The older generation was like this, they didn’t want to die in a hospital, preferring to pass away at home.
The nephew looked at the man on the bed, finding it difficult to connect this frail old man with the vigorous man in a police uniform in the photo.
Liu Jianguo was drowsy, his mind no longer as sharp as it used to be. He could only point at a small metal box.
His nephew quickly brought it over, opened it, and took out a white towel, the bloodstains long dried, perfectly preserved after almost thirty years.
Seeing his actions, his relatives told his nephew to bring the black wooden box from the altar. “Jianguo, look, Yang Yang is here.”
Liu Jianguo sat up, holding the black box, seemingly more alert.
Inside were the ashes of his son’s left ear and several teeth, which he and his wife had cremated.
Liu Jianguo knew his time was short. He looked at his nephew and said slowly, “Xiao Hui, later… later, please bury me, your aunt, and Yang Yang together.”
His nephew, knowing these were his final wishes, nodded tearfully. “I understand, Uncle, don’t worry.”
Liu Jianguo’s eyes glazed over, his voice becoming slurred. “I… I’ve been loyal to my country, loyal to the people, my entire life, but… but I’ve failed my family.”
His vision blurred as he muttered, “Will they… will they blame me in the afterlife?”
They probably would.
Otherwise, why hadn’t they appeared in his dreams all these years?
In his daze, he saw a white snake, carrying a bamboo tube, slither through the window. The older generation believed that if a snake appeared when someone was dying, it meant their time had truly come, because it signified a heavy Yin qi.
He was truly dying.
In his fading consciousness, a voice echoed in his ear:
‘Dad.’
